feel good food that's good for you

Like us humans, plants long for light and warmth. In the depths of winter, both us and plants tend to hibernate – them waiting for the first pale, watery sunlight to unfurl tightly-knotted shoots; us hunkered down and longing to shed heavy jackets and wooly layers.

Spring brings treasures of delicate flavours, blossoms and colours – curls of pea shoots, tufts of radishes leaves, those anticipated first spears of asparagus. Come summer it is a free for all of texture, rapidly expanding leaves and roots, and bright vivid swathes of colour.

Now we are entering the best time, autumn. Not only are the dusky Victoria plums almost rude in their voluptuous ripeness, tumbles of fat juicy tomatoes threaten to somersault from their trusses and onto the ground. My inner forager also thrills at sneaking into a nearby deserted, secret car park (shh) and picking wild brambles, paying for it in stained fingers and long, thorn-gouged scratches. And still the summer fruits and vegetables continue to flourish as long as the sun is warm.

Here in the UK, September is often a late, welcome burst of summer. Right now my conservatory doors are open, the kitchen door too, and light is streaming in. I can see the apple tree from where I sit, and it is heavy with fruit. Likewise the plum tree, espaliered across the back of our south-facing garage wall, daily shifting from pale almost opalescent green to deep magenta.

But I am still craving summer food. Or rather food whose ingredients are still defiantly summery but heartier in preparation for the short days ahead.

Aubergines and tomatoes are still at their peak, my own tomatoes still ripening and threatening to push through the conservatory roof. This recipe uses both, along with creamy, ripe avocado, nutty chickpeas, salty-sharp capers, and a special, kind of out-there ingredient that I love, but don’t feel you need to rush out and get. I roasted the aubergines on a charcoal grill to get the smoky flavour that complements aubergines so well, but do them in the oven or on a gas hob as alternatives if your own barbecue grill is tucked away for the year.

Whether of not it is warm or just starting to cool for you, this textural mosaic of flavours and colours will hopefully pique your interest.

By the way, if this recipe looks at all familiar I wrote it to appear on Elaine Boddy’s lovely blog, foodbod, as a finale to her brilliant “What Would You Feed Me” series earlier this year. I wrote it for her, but I really wanted to share it with you too.

Burnt Aubergines, Avocado-Tahini Sauce and Fried Caper-Chickpeas

I roasted my aubergines over a charcoal fire, but don’t let wet weather or lack of garden space deter you in making this soft, dippable crush of spiky yet comforting flavours. Alternative methods are cooking the aubergines directly (and I mean directly) on a gas hob, or even in the oven. The latter lacks the – to me – essential smokiness but is a good enough sub as the other flavours put everything together. xx

The aubergines are the only time-consuming part of this whole foodie affair. The most delicious option is whacking them on a hot barbecue grill.

1. Light your barbecue and once the charcoal or wood goes ashy, pierce the aubergine six times (to stop them potentially exploding, although this is more of a risk in the oven), slick the aubergines with some oil and place on the hottest part of the grill. Allow them to get wrinkled, dark and blistered – turning to cook the whole aubergine. Allow up to 20 minutes to get them shrunken and wrinkled all over. The whole thing should be very soft and perhaps burst in places.. Allow to cool a bit while you get on with everything else.

2. You can also ‘bake’ the pitta chips on the bbq too. Cut a couple of wholemeal pittas around the seam, tear or cut into large bite-sized pieces and lay on the grill, turning as they brown. Or, pop pieces on a baking tray and bake at 180C/350F for 8-10 minutes, until dry and starting to colour.

3. Make the avocado-tahini sauce by putting the avocado, garlic, tahini, lemon juice and zest and about 3 tbsp water in a food processor or blender, blending until smooth. Add more water or lemon juice to make a thickish, dippable sauce.

4. For the chickpeas, heat a small sauté pan over medium-high heat; toss the chickpeas and capers in 1 tbsp oil, adding yuzu powder if you have it; add to the hot pan. Saute the chickpeas and capers until brown in places.

5. To serve, mash the aubergine in their skins (or carefully scrape it out into a bowl), then mash in the avocado sauce to mix. Taste for seasoning. Now top with the chickpeas, tomatoes, parsley, and serve with lemon wedges and pitta chips. Some grilled halloumi on top would also be lovely if you wanted a more substantial and luxurious meal.

Disclosure: I am an ambassador for Froothie and some links in this post and in the sidebar are affiliate links. However, as always, all product reviews and inclusions are based on my honest opinion and genuine use. If you’d like to know more about Froothie health products, please visit the Froothie website for more details.

This sounds sooooooo good <3 I'm very new on wordpress and I'M just overwhelmed by the amount of creativity out here 🙂 Love your blog by the way and this awesome recipe
Love, Annahttps://annadaftari.wordpress.com/

Really lovely recipe and we all adore aubergines and will certainly make it. We had a fabulious meal last night in Kanpai and one of the most delish things was the grilled aubergine in sweet miso sauce so this recipe will keep us on the lovely aubergine trail, thank you!

I’ve been meaning to post a kind of messy version of the dish of which you speak! I’ve had it sitting in my files for ages but haven’t posted it. Think chopped up and roasted in that marinade. Not elegant but perhaps less fussy to make. Now, young lady, when will I get you to El Cartel??

Lovely dish, Kellie! I’m lacking both the grill and the gas hob, so a baked version would have to suffice, perhaps helped along with some smoked salt or similar. I’ve never seen yuzu powder, but it seems like the kind of thing I should seek out!

What a wonderful recipe with so many of my favourite ingredients. I do love the sharp salty tang of a caper. I once fried them in truffle oil and put them on cauliflower cheese. Totally indulgent but delicious. Now if I had an open fire to roast those aubergines to a burnt crisp…

You always make food that not only looks lovely, it always tastes good too. I have often roasted aubergines in their skin in the oven but I know the flavour would be far superior cooked on the BBQ. I hope the sun stays so I can try this out and enjoy all the flavours you have used, so clever!

Hello 🙂 Jsut tried it out as part of my weight loss, more veggies, life style change… the avocado and tahini combination is mystical!! Aubergine’s flesh was lightly ‘bitter’… waiting for all to cool down inorder to dig in 🙂 the chick peas and capers concoction is sublime! 🙂 Cheers

I'm Kellie, an ex-pat American cancer health educator with a taste for global food - and big flavours - made with fresh, seasonal British ingredients. Food To Glow is mainly 'plant-based', but you will find the occasional decadent treat - usually with a healthy tweak. Although I'm an omnivore, I speak fluent vegan: most of my non-vegan recipes will have vegan alternatives, as well as gluten-free and soft food diet options where appropriate. All recipes are tested out on family, friends and/or my cancer nutrition classes at the Maggies Cancer Caring Centres. You are very welcome to read, comment and share!

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